Method of and Means for Combination Design Transfer and Application of Heat Reactivatable Adhesive

This invention relates to the art of appliqueing, and is more particularly concerned with providing a new and improved method of and means for combination design transfer and application of heat reactivatable adhesive especially useful for applieing.

There are now available on the market heat transfer patterns for embroidery or ball point painting, and the like. These transfers are printed on paper, and by applying the printed face of the paper onto a piece of cloth and applying heat as by means of a hot iron, the printed pattern will transfer to the cloth. Thereafter the pattern may be used for embroidering or other decorative purposes in respect to the fabric upon which the pattern has been transferred.

If desired, of course, the designs which have been transferred and embroidered or otherwise treated on the base cloth may be trimmed out and appliqued to another base if desired.

Much appliqueing is effected by merely sewing the applique pieces to the base material.

On the other hand, there has developed a popular form of appliqueing which comprises interposing heat reactivatable adhesive in a dry mesh form between the applique and the base sheet and effecting adherence of the applique to the base sheet by applying heat and pressure to the assembly whereby the heat reactivatable mesh fuses and then sets and adhesively bonds the appliquee to the base, and then sometimes sewing the edges of the applique piece.

By the present invention, a substantial improvement in appliqueing is provided by combining applique pattern design transfers with the heat reactivatable adhesive sheet material so that the pattern or design can be applied to the desired applique fabric coincident with fusing and laminating the adhesive sheet layer to the back of the applique material. Thereafter the applique material may be cut into applique pieces by following the transfer pattern on the back face of the applique fabric, and the pieces assembled with a base, whether a fabric or nonfabric and to which the applique pieces are then adapted to be bonded by reactivating the adhesive on the back faces of the pieces.

Pursuant to the principles of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing means for combination applique design pattern transfer and adhesive lamination to applique material, comprising supplying a sheet of heat reactivatable adhesive, and imprinting an applique design pattern onto the sheet, so that by fusing and laminating the adhesive sheet with the applique design pattern thereon onto applique material the applique design pattern will be transferred to said applique material.

The present invention also provides means for combination applique design pattern transfer and adhesive lamination to applique material, comprising a sheet of heat reactivatable adhesive, and an applique design pattern imprinted onto said sheet, so that by fusing and laminating said adhesive sheet with said applique design pattern thereon onto applique material said applique design pattern will be transferred to said applique material.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an applique panel produced according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a heat reactivatable adhesive sheet on which has been imprinted design pattern for the applique pieces which have been assembled in the article of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 demonstrates a step in the method of applying the patterned heat reactivatable adhesive to applique material and concurrently transfering the design patterns to the material;

FIG. 4 demonstrates a preliminary step in appliqueing the applique pieces to the base panel;

FIG. 5 shows a further step in appliqueing the article; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken substantially along the line VI--VI in FIG. 5.

By way of example, there is depicted in FIG. 1 an applique article comprising a base panel 10 having appliqued thereto a multipiece design which may comprise an arrangement of multicolored pieces, in this instance representing a flower basket, although it will be understood that any preferred applique design may be provided. As shown, the applique design comprises a yellow basket 11 having a handle 12. In the basket is a flower arrangement comprising a yellow flower 13 having a pink (red) center 14, pin (red) flowers 15 having yellow centers 17, and an array of green leaves 18 arranged artistically about the flowers. If desired some or all of the applique pieces may have their edges hemstitched as indicated at 19.

According to the present invention patterns for the applique pieces are printed on heat reactivatable adhesive sheet material 20 (FIG. 2). Adhesive sheet material for this purpose may be of a kind such as is readily obtainable in retail establishments catering to the applique trade, and produced by various manufacturers under various designations and formulations. One popular brand is known as Stitch Witchery, which is a trademark of USM Corp. This material, generally referred to as fusible webbing, is a mesh structure web supplied as a thin sheet of securely bonded interlaced thin strands or fibers of the adhesive, which is a polyamide plastic. It is dry, solid and non-tacky and is form-retaining at temperatures well above maximum atmospheric weather temperatures, and will fuse, that is melt, at about 210.degree. F. to 250.degree. F. whereby to form an adhesive bond for compatible surfaces, and in particular most fabric material surfaces, paper, wood, and the like, and at least those materials which are commonly used for appliqueing.

A unique aspect of the present invention resides in that the patterns for the applique pieces are imprinted directly on the adhesive webbing sheet 20. As shown, patterns for the various applique pieces of the completed article in FIG. 1 are identified by the same reference numerals with the subscript "a". Thus, the pattern outline for the basket 11 is identified as 11a and its handle as 12a, the yellow flower pattern 13a, its center pattern 14a, the pattern outlines for the pink flowers are 15a, the outlines for their centers 17a, and the outlines for the leaf pieces 18a.

Arrangement of the various applique pattern outlines is desirably in designated areas on the sheet 20. For example, all of the patterns for green pieces are, as shown, confined to an area G, the red or pink patterns to an area R and the yellow patterns to area Y. To facilitate this segregation of the various patterns, the areas G, R and Y may be separated by imprinted delineations or subdivision lines 21 on the sheet 20.

Imprinting the patterns on the adhesive sheet 20 may be effected in any suitable manner by means of colored lineation as by commercial printing techniques, by block printing, such as by wood blocks or rubber stamps, by silk screening, by direct outlining by means of pencil, crayon, felt or ball point pen; or by impressed lineation comprising pressing or slotting the pattern lines in the adhesive sheet; and the like. Thus, while the imprinted mesh plastic material may be supplied with commercially imprinted pattern designs, a user may exercise his own artistic ingenuity in creating his own designs by means of a preferably ink applying implement, although crayon type marking pencils and stubby point lead pencils may be used but are not as easy to use on this material as the ink applying appliances.

Initially patterns imprinted on the interlaced thin strands or fibers of the adhesive material appear light, but distinguishable because of the openings between the strands and fibers of the adhesive material. After fusing the pattern to the back side of almost any applique material whether white or black, or heavily patterned, the imprint becomes more distinguishable, since the pattern lines, which were interrupted on the original fusible webbing, are now mostly connected because of the melting of the fusible webbing.

Furthermore, black lined imprinted patterns are even distinguishable on black or heavily patterned cloths because the adhesive acts as a carrier and provides a lighter and shiny background for the black printed pattern lines.

Transference of the patterns imprinted on the adhesive mesh or solid sheet or web 20 onto applique material, which may be any suitable material but generally fabric is adapted to be effected by fusibly applying the heat reactivatable adhesive material 20 to the applique material by fusing heat and pressure. This is conveniently and efficiently effected as demonstrated in FIG. 3, by placing onto a firm backing surface 22 an underlay pressing sheet surface 23 which is nonadherent to the fused adhesive, and then superimposing the imprinted adhesive web 20 on the underlay pressing sheet surface. The desired applique material is placed on the adhesive web 20. In order to attain the shade or color differentiation of the various applique pieces to be produced, the applique material overlying the areas G, R and Y of the heat reactivatable adhesive web 20 will conform to the differentiating color scheme. Thus, the applique material to overly the mesh plastic sheet area G, and identified as Mg, may be green, the applique material overlying the area R, and identified as MR may have the desired pink or red shade, and the applique material overlying the area Y and identified as MY may have the desired yellow shade.

Transference of the applique patterns to the applique sheets MG, MR and MY, and fusing of the adhesive material of the adhesive web 20 to the applique material is desirably effected by applying an overlay pressing sheet 23, which is nonadherent to the fused adhesive, and which may be a folded over portion of the underlay sheet 23, onto the assembly of applique material and underlying pattern-carrying heat reactivatable adhesive sheet 20. Then fusing heat and pressure are adapted to be applied to the assembly through the overlying pressing sheet 23 as by means of a pressing iron 24, whereby the adhesive sheet is fused and, in effect, laminated to the under sides or surfaces of the sheets of appliqueing material. Then, when the adhesive material has set onto the applique material sheets, the patterns are effectively transfered to the applique material sheets. Removal of the pressing sheet 23, which strips cleanly from the fused and set adhesive layer, releases the laminated assembly for further processing.

Material suitable for the pressing sheet 23 comprises polytetrafluoroethylene film of approximately 0.001 inch to 0.005 inch in thickness, or a parchment like silicone treated paper of about the same thickness. These materials are readily available, are nonadherent to at least the fused polyamide adhesive material, and are free from deterioration when subject to temperatures well above pressing iron temperatures which may be as high as up to 500.degree. F. when rapid action is desired.

A number of the laminated assemblies of fused heat reactivatable adhesive and applique material may be stacked and stored for future use.

For appliqueing, the individually outlined pieces are adapted to be cut as by means of trimming shears from the laminated sheet, and each of the applique pieces will carry on its entire back the laminated layer of fused heat reactivatable adhesive. The applique pieces are then adapted to be assembled onto the base panel 10 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

For example, the basic basket piece 11 with its handle 12 may be positioned as desired on the base panel 10 and fusedly bonded to the base panel 10 by application of heat and pressure as by means of the heated iron 24. A plurality of the pieces may be fusedly bonded in place at the same time if desired such, for example, as the flower pieces 13 and 15 which interfit with one another and the basket piece 11 and its handle 12. These pieces are relatively position supportive with respect to one another. The applique design may then be completed as indicated in FIG. 5, by assembling the remaining applique pieces trimmed from the adhesive-fabric laminate, and applying heat and pressure to the assembly as by means of the iron 24 to complete the applique design. In this final bonding of applique pieces, the leaf pieces 18 are bonded to the base panel 10, and the center pieces 14 and 17 are bonded to their respective flower patterns.

The resulting applique article will have the various pieces firmly bonded in the assembly by the heat reactivatable adhesive means 20 as best visualized in FIG. 6 where the applique pieces which are in direct face-to-face relation to the base panel 10 are directly bonded to the base panel by the adhesive 20 and the pieces superimposed on the thus bonded pieces, such as the center pieces 17 are bonded by the adhesive to the applique pieces on which they are superimposed. After all of the applique pieces have been adhesively bonded to the base panel 10, the hem stitching 19 may be applied if desired.

It will be understood that variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of this invention.